Stormraider Keep (A M.E.T.A.L. Campaign)

Elyria just hears a bunch of squeaks at first.  It takes you a moment to realize it is speaking, very softly, very high pitched, and not very clearly.  It is Sylvan: 

"Rahkeshi." Elyria says softly, almost starting to cry it seems. "Tell her we are coming for her, tell her..." Elyria starts excitedly in Sylvan but then she leans in and whispers.

The creature blinks invisible as Elyria leans in, but then pops back visible a moment later.  It continues to squeak words in Sylvan. 

 The creature's top then spins wildly and flies up into the air, once again popping out of sight. 

Aurelius looks alarmed as he hears Elyria mention their half-orc friend's name and then start crying.  But it quickly becomes apparent that they are tears of joy.  He waits patiently, knowing that Elyria will explain when she is ready.

As the small creature pops out of sight Elyria stands up again and faces Aurelius and Flynt. "It was a nature spirit, sent by Rahkeshi I think. It told us we should find the strange dragon forest. Maybe it is there somewhere that she is held." She says, ready to move on. "I know this might be some kind of trick, but I don't think so." he says and starts moving again.

Flynt keeps watch. His trusty Betsy at the ready.

"If we can discover the location of this dragon forest, perhaps we won't need Sylmare's help after all," muses Aurelius.

He resolves to query the centaur and his companions about these "strange dragons" and if they are unhelpful, to ask the Harengon elders.

You return to the spot where you had first met the druids.  Zol'nard and Triserla are both there, standing in the midst of the stones, standing near the one in the center of the mound.  They motion for you to approach. They wait until you come up the stone steps to stand before them. Zol'nard addresses the group. "Thank you for your assistance here. You have obtained what you needed and so can be on your way.  However, there is one last thing before you go. The master of this forest wishes to greet you."

With those words, you all notice an immense dragon's head immediately to your right.  The head along with the rest of the dragon fades into view, having evidently been invisible previously.  Its body is primarily a deep purple, but the scales have an iridescence to them, seeming to change to different shades of purple, from deep bluish-purple to indigo and bright reddish-purple.  The wings seem more reminiscent of a butterfly than dragon and are a wild display of color going from matching its skin through bright blues and pinks. 

"My name is Ciymaranthingeir, and Gwyllinwald is mine. It is a place of peace and I endeavor to preserve it. You have done me great service in pushing back those abominations," the dragon says.  "Though I am loathe to part with my treasure, but offer you the following gifts:"

 
Rose Quartz Koi: This Tiny crystalline sculpture of a fish weighs 2 pounds and looks miraculously lifelike. When you place or release the sculpture at a point underwater, it comes to life and swims around in a 5-foot-cube centered on that point. If placed in a container of salt water that's no larger than 5 feet on a side, the water inside becomes fresh after 10 minutes. You can use an Action to recapture the swimming sculpture.

Diorama Die: This six-sided die is an inch across and unfolds to reveal miniature scenes inside it. You can speak its command word using an action and choose to either roll the die or place it with a number of your choice facing up. If you roll the die, record whether you cast, drop, shake, or spin it when doing so. When the die lands on a number, it opens up to expose a miniature, illusory diorama inside of it. The die either unfolds partially or completely when doing so (your choice). Use the table below to determine the nature of the die's scene, combining any relevant effects to determine the result. You can collect the diorama die (no action required), causing it to close when you do. A new scene is created each time you speak the die's command word and either roll or place the die.

Acorn Charm: This small, polished acorn has been made into a magical bell that rings softly when moved. While wearing this charm, you have advantage on Charisma checks made to interact with plants, and you can communicate with plant creatures as if you shared a common language.  

Foxfire Charm: This ebony charm is decoratively shaped into a fox's head and is always slightly warm to the touch. It measures 4 inches across and weighs 1/2 pound. If the charm is placed in a sufficiently hot fire, such as in a campfire, forge, or oven that fills up to a 10-foot cube, the charm begins to glow red-hot and creates a harmless, but comfortably warm, fire elemental in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the fire. The elemental is in the form of a fox and can't move farther than 100 feet from the fire in which its charm is kept. The elemental's singular goal is to supply this fire with fuel. If the fire begins to burn out, the elemental will search the surrounding area for fuel that isn't being worn or carried.

The fox uses the statistics for a cat, except that it's an elemental instead of a beast, is immune to fire and poison damage, and understands Common and Ignan but can’t speak. The elemental has advantage on ability checks to find fuel for its source fire and sheds bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet. It can carry fuel back to the fire as normal, provided that it's appropriate to the elemental's size. If the elemental drops to 0 hit points, touches fire, or its source fire goes out, it vanishes and the charm grows cold and dark again until it’s placed in a new fire.

Cleaning Cube: When found, the cleaning cube is a dehydrated, 2-inch cube. While dehydrated, the cube is inanimate, and its weight is negligible. You can place the dehydrated cube in 1 or more gallons of water as an action, causing it to animate and grow in size to become a 1-foot cube that weighs 6 pounds.

This Tiny, sentient piece of an enchanted gelatinous cube is harmlessly soapy, instead of acidic, and enjoys cleaning the surfaces it travels across. The rehydrated cube moves slowly while animated in this way, methodically cleaning objects and surfaces it comes into contact with. The cube remains hydrated for up to 8 hours but can be squeezed as an action (as if it were a sponge) to dehydrate it again early.

The cleaning cube is considered a magical object and is not a creature. It has a speed of 1 foot and can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check. It has AC 10, 10 hit points, and resistance to all damage. The cube dehydrates when it drops to 0 hit points but regains all its hit points when hydrated again.

Sentience. The cleaning cube is a sentient unaligned item with an Intelligence of 1, a Wisdom of 6, and a Charisma of 1. It has hearing and blindsight out to a range of 60 feet. It can't speak or read but obeys your commands as best as it can understand them.

Personality. The cleaning cube is happiest finding and dissolving dirt and other grime, and enjoys the feeling of moving across clean, polished surfaces. It doesn't concern itself with combat, preferring to continue its cleaning instead of involving itself in confrontation. If the cube finds a stray coin, gemstone, or other similar small item out of place while it cleans, it will absorb and clean the item until it's removed by a creature as an action or until it becomes dehydrated once again.

"Oh yes, and the amulet you took from my clearing. Ah yes, I know about that!" the dragon says.  He almost seems to start to fade from view as he finishes, becoming slightly translucent.  "Fare well on your journey."

(All of the items are common.  Below is the amulet Aurelius has.  In all cases I just provided the description, presuming you will find a time to figure them out in the near future.  I added these more for interest rather than being of great utility.)

Clockwork Amulet: This copper amulet contains tiny interlocking gears and is powered by magic from Mechanus, a plane of clockwork predictability. A creature that puts an ear to the amulet can hear faint ticking and whirring noises coming from within.  When you make an attack roll while wearing the amulet, you can forgo rolling the d20 to get a 10 on the die. Once used, this property can’t be used again until the next dawn.

As they reach the mound Elyria greets Zol'nard. She flinches as she notices the head of Ciymaranthingeir, but quickly composes herself again.
She quickly kneals to show her respect for the ruler of Gwyllinwald. As the dragon fades away she looks closer at the items it left behid.
"I would like to take this one." She says holding the Acorn Charm. "You can split the rest between the two of you." She suggests to Flynt and Aurelius.
"Thanks Zol'nard, we must continue now, our friend waits for us." She says to the Centaur, ready to travel on to the Harengon village.

Bowing his head in respect, Aurelius says "Well met, great Ciymaranthingeir. You do us great honor, and we thank you.  If I may trouble you a moment longer, could you tell us about the amulet we discovered? What magic does it contain, and how much trouble could it cause?

And do you know anything of a forest of 'strange dragons' nearby? Our dear friend is imprisoned in a fortress there or nearby, by the wicked Leilatha.  We thank you again for any assistance you could provide."

"Hrm, I may have misintepreted the message." Elyria says to Aurelius in a lowered voice. "It may have referred to our host." She adds quickly and bows her head in respect once again.

"I believe that I am the only dragon in these parts." Ciymaranthingeir responds as his form ripples back to fully visible.

"Now, the amulet you sought seems a most peculiar thing.  It is a Fey artifact for certain. It seems to contain a bargain, or perhaps I should say it's a thing someone gave up as part of a bargain."  

The dragon shakes his head. "Such convoluted things.  More the works of the Courts than I care for.  This item deals with rules for hospitality I think.  I can tell you little else.  It came to this forest long long ago. Others have sought it, but you are the first to claim it."

"We thank you again, and wish peace and tranquility for your beautiful forest.  We must bid farewell and make haste to rescue our friend."

"I don't believe we ever needed her help at all." grumbles Flynt.  

An idea suddenly strikes him. Taking the compass from around his neck he shows it to the druids. "As I am a stranger in these lands, perhaps you could tell us where this compass is pointing. It's supposed to point the way to an artifact of some importance.  But it could be pointing to an actual place as well. Perhaps the distance and direction will reveal a landmark of some type." He picks up the fox totem and die and bows in thanks.

Ciymaranthingeir turns his large head towards the compass Flynt holds.  He looks at it and the numbers, and the actually turns his head in the direction it is pointing.  He finally turns his head back, "That is beyond the borders of my land. I am afraid it has been some time since I have ventured forth from here.  I am afraid I do not know what is in that direction, save the foothills and then the mountains."

As it seems he is finished he then look at Aurelius. "Leilatha.  Hmmm.  That is a name I do seem to recall.  Her and her cruel sisters.  I know little of them, but I would steer clear of them if you can."  He shifts a bit, seeming a little agitated. "In fact, I think it was Leilatha that once came here trying to steal one of my treasures.  But we did not allow her to get very far here in Gwyllinwald. Our forest yeti convinced her to leave."  The dragon gets a gleam in its eye, and you hear a howling from the trees to the other side of the mound you are on. You can barely make out shadowy shapes nearly 20 feet tall with red glowing eyes.  Three of these brown hairy creatures step out in the clearing, looking about to rampage across the space.  And then they fade, revealed to be just illusion.  

After that he turns to Elyria. "I see you are in a hurry, as I understand to find your friend.  I will hold you up no longer.  My best wishes to you.  I shall make your path back easy, but do not expect it to be so should you return again." 

And with that, the creature does completely disappear this time.  You hear but a slight rustle of movement, but then the area is quiet. 

Triserla steps towards the group. "Well, I guess this is it.  I wish you much fortune.  And hope we might cross paths again." 

(Unless you have other questions, you now head back towards the Harengone village.) 

"Thanks Triserla, I wish so too, I hope I will be able to return here one day, in the company of my friend." Elyria says and smiles. Then she turns and leaves for the Harengon village.

Aurelius will add the Koi and the Cube to his pack, wave at the druids, and follow Elyria, mounted on his warhorse.

Disappointed but not deterred, Flynt bow his head in acceptance and moves off with the others.

(OCC: Did Aurelious keep the amulet? If not Flynt would take that over the either trinket with the die being his preference to give up.)

(Aurelius did keep the clockwork amulet but Flynt is welcome to it.)

The paths of the forest seem remarkably easy to follow now.  The place seems to look slightly different than before.  It is only a couple of hours to be back out of the forest and a short time later you arrive at the Harengone village.  They seemed to have seen and recognized you from a distance.  And when you arrive the herbalist you had met before is at the entrance to greet you. 

She is almost hopping as she greets you - almost, as perhaps bouncing on her feet is a better description. "Oh my! You are back!  You went into the Gwyllinwald and came back! Amazing! What was it like in there? What did you see? Were there any strange creatures?"  She quickly scans over the group of you. "Are you all well? Did you get the mushrooms!?"